Delisted Xbox 360 games briefly reappear on the Xbox Store — Microsoft prepares backward compatibility revival

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Several delisted Xbox 360 games briefly reappeared on the Xbox Store this week before being pulled again, according to the Better xCloud datamining account, which monitors Microsoft 's cloud gaming backend for changes. This follows Xbox Vice President Jason Ronald's commitment at GDC 2026 in March to revive the company's backward compatibility program as part of Xbox's 25th anniversary later this year. This happened again, this time with Aegis Wing and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. What's happening 👀?Meanwhile, Mars: War Logs (X360) got delisted unannounced. https://t.co/2eKp2ZnvvI pic.twitter.com/cwykCPFSFC April 3, 2026 The titles spotted include Aegis Wing, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , and Mars: War Logs , all of which had been removed from the store previously. The Prince of Persia title resurfaced with its original release date, along with an apparent placeholder price of $100, and the 2003 shooter Armed and Dangerous also reappeared and vanished shortly before the latest batch. Mars: War Logs was delisted around the same time. One or two accidental relists might mean nothing, but the pattern across four titles in quick succession has understandably caught attention. The Better xCloud account, run by the developer behind the browser plugin of the same name, first flagged Armed and Dangerous as a possible mistake before noting that subsequent appearances looked intentional. Article continues below At GDC 2026 in San Francisco , Ronald told attendees that the game preservation team would be "rolling out new ways to play some of the most iconic games from our past" as part of Xbox's 25th anniversary celebrations. Microsoft discontinued its backward compatibility program in 2021, citing licensing issues and technical limitations that prevented further titles from being added to the catalog. The program originally launched in 2015 and brought hundreds of original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles to Xbox One and later Xbox Series X|S. At its peak, the catalog included over 600 titles spanning two console generations. Since the hiatus, fan demand for its return has remained high, with the community-run Xbox Game Preservation website tracking which Original Xbox titles players most want to see come back. Top-requested games on the site include Jet Set Radio Future, Sonic Heroes , and The Simpsons: Hit & Run . The Simpsons: Hit & Run - Homer Kicks Off at